Karl Rove spoke at Tuscaloosa County Republicans event Monday

Former U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, left, and Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to President George W. Bush, share a laugh during the seventh annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner hosted by the Tuscaloosa County Republicans Monday at the Zone in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The event honored U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt and Bonner, and featured Rove as keynote speaker.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | The Tuscaloosa News

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor | The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at 4:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 11:37 p.m.

Political columnist and commentator Karl Rove on Monday night accused President Barack Obama of lacking leadership and acting irresponsibly in the government funding crisis.

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“I am a little mystified about what is happening in Washington,” said Rove, a longtime GOP strategist who was the guest speaker at the Tuscaloosa County Republican Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at the Zone at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“We have a Constitution that demands leadership by the president, and it says our government cannot function without the cooperation of the president,” Rove told several hundred attendees.

“And our president is saying 'I don't need to negotiate. I don't need to offer anything,' ” Rove said in describing the stalemate that has shut down much of the federal government.

Rove said the battles over a continuing resolution to fund the federal government and the raising of the debt ceiling, which is expected to come to a head later this month, require discussions and compromise between Congress and the president.

“We will have differences of opinion when the House is Republican and the Democrats have the presidency and the Senate,” said Rove, who was a top adviser to President George W. Bush.

But he said Obama refuses to negotiate and insists on having it his way or nothing at all.

“He has not only provoked one great crisis but two great crises for this country,” Rove said, accusing Obama of playing politics by refusing to negotiate.

Rove characterized the position of House Republicans as reasonable. He said they want a one-year delay in the mandate requiring individuals to get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Rove noted that Obama, by executive order, delayed the mandate for businesses with more than 50 employees to provide insurance until 2015 and allowed members of Congress and their staff to be exempt from the law that affects the rest of Americans.

Nowhere in the Affordable Care Act does the president have statutory authority to do that, Rove said. That would requires congressional approval, he said.

Yet when the House passes legislation to delay the individual mandate for health insurance for one year, Obama says he won't allow it and will veto it, Rove said.

“By not delaying the individual mandate for one year, it is going to cost $15 billion that is going to come out of the pockets of working people.”

Yet Obama granted waivers to business and members of Congress and their staffers, Rove said.

“Members of Congress ought to live under the same laws they pass,” Rove said, noting their failure to do so is “creating a new aristocracy,” which is what the United States got rid of during the Revolution.

He accused Obama of hypocrisy for threatening to veto any legislation raising the debt ceiling if there are restrictions attached to it.

Rove noted that when Bush asked to raise the debt ceiling in 2006, Obama, then a U.S. senator, led the effort to try to defeat it “because he wanted to defund the Iraq War.”

“He called Bush a failure for asking to raise the debt ceiling” he said. Yet, now he won't admit his own failures, Rove said.

He also accused the president of wanting to gut the budget agreement of July 2011. He said that will happen if Obama gets his way and there would be $91 billion more in spending than in the budget agreement. That, he said, would continue to grow, adding $4 trillion more to the national debt over the next few years.

Rove said Republicans must do more than just criticize Obama and the Democrats. They have to offer their own solutions. Had that happened in the last presidential race, the results might have been different, he said.

<p>Political columnist and commentator Karl Rove on Monday night accused President Barack Obama of lacking leadership and acting irresponsibly in the government funding crisis.</p><p>“I am a little mystified about what is happening in Washington,” said Rove, a longtime GOP strategist who was the guest speaker at the Tuscaloosa County Republican Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at the Zone at Bryant-Denny Stadium.</p><p>“We have a Constitution that demands leadership by the president, and it says our government cannot function without the cooperation of the president,” Rove told several hundred attendees.</p><p>“And our president is saying 'I don't need to negotiate. I don't need to offer anything,' ” Rove said in describing the stalemate that has shut down much of the federal government.</p><p>Rove said the battles over a continuing resolution to fund the federal government and the raising of the debt ceiling, which is expected to come to a head later this month, require discussions and compromise between Congress and the president.</p><p>“We will have differences of opinion when the House is Republican and the Democrats have the presidency and the Senate,” said Rove, who was a top adviser to President George W. Bush.</p><p>But he said Obama refuses to negotiate and insists on having it his way or nothing at all.</p><p>“He has not only provoked one great crisis but two great crises for this country,” Rove said, accusing Obama of playing politics by refusing to negotiate.</p><p>Rove characterized the position of House Republicans as reasonable. He said they want a one-year delay in the mandate requiring individuals to get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.</p><p>Rove noted that Obama, by executive order, delayed the mandate for businesses with more than 50 employees to provide insurance until 2015 and allowed members of Congress and their staff to be exempt from the law that affects the rest of Americans. </p><p>Nowhere in the Affordable Care Act does the president have statutory authority to do that, Rove said. That would requires congressional approval, he said.</p><p>Yet when the House passes legislation to delay the individual mandate for health insurance for one year, Obama says he won't allow it and will veto it, Rove said.</p><p>“By not delaying the individual mandate for one year, it is going to cost $15 billion that is going to come out of the pockets of working people.”</p><p>Yet Obama granted waivers to business and members of Congress and their staffers, Rove said.</p><p>“Members of Congress ought to live under the same laws they pass,” Rove said, noting their failure to do so is “creating a new aristocracy,” which is what the United States got rid of during the Revolution. </p><p>He accused Obama of hypocrisy for threatening to veto any legislation raising the debt ceiling if there are restrictions attached to it.</p><p>Rove noted that when Bush asked to raise the debt ceiling in 2006, Obama, then a U.S. senator, led the effort to try to defeat it “because he wanted to defund the Iraq War.”</p><p>“He called Bush a failure for asking to raise the debt ceiling” he said. Yet, now he won't admit his own failures, Rove said.</p><p>He also accused the president of wanting to gut the budget agreement of July 2011. He said that will happen if Obama gets his way and there would be $91 billion more in spending than in the budget agreement. That, he said, would continue to grow, adding $4 trillion more to the national debt over the next few years.</p><p>Rove said Republicans must do more than just criticize Obama and the Democrats. They have to offer their own solutions. Had that happened in the last presidential race, the results might have been different, he said.</p>